James Berardinelli review - *** out of ****

https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/blitz

For writer/director Steve McQueen, whose previous films have included the likes of Shame and 12 Years a Slave, Blitz represents an almost conventional turn. Although the movie includes a subtext related to the class and race divisions evident in London’s bomb shelters during the early years of World War II, the primary focus of Blitz is the tenacious struggle of a boy, George (Elliott Heffernan), to affect a reunion with his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), who sent him to be evacuated once the bombs started falling in September 1940. His misadventures, sometimes Dickensian in nature, provide a cross-section of life during nine-month period comprising The Blitz.

The film opens during the early days of The Blitz, the German bombing raid on London that marked Hitler’s first attempt to bring England to heel. Rita and George live in a house owned by Rita’s elderly father, Gerald (Paul Weller). As we learn in a flashback, circumstances have forced Rita to be a single mother. Although air raid sirens warn of impending attacks, there is often not enough time for citizens to reach shelters and many of those shelters are either poorly constructed or overcrowded. Recognizing the danger to George if he remains in London, Rita elects to participate in the government-sponsored evacuation program that transports London children to the countryside where they can be fostered by others while the war persists. Rita is heartbroken by the parting but that’s nothing compared to George’s reaction. Partway through the journey, he leaps from the train and begins a return trip to London that sees him befriending other runaways, being taken under the wing of a kind police officer, Ife (Benjamin Clementine), and kidnapped to join a band of thieves and rogues. Meanwhile, learning of her son’s disappearance, Rita leaves her job to search for him.

Although Blitz is primarily a straightforward drama, it isn’t without some weightier material. McQueen shines a light on the racism infecting British society at the time when some (mostly white) citizens believed themselves to be deserving of privileges because of the color of their skin or their social standing. There is a scene in which the dark-skinned Ife is met with ill-concealed contempt by a light-skinned homeowner when the former reminds the latter that the city is under blackout restrictions and all lights must be turned off. McQueen doesn’t overemphasize these elements although there is a “kumbaya” moment that feels a little forced.

By switching back-and-forth between George and Rita, Blitz is able to highlight how difficult things have become for Londoners during The Blitz when “life as normal” becomes impossible. There’s one throwaway shot in which a man is depicted sitting in an armchair in the midst of a bombed-out home with missing walls. The last scene of the movie, which starts as a close-up before the camera pulls back to a long-distance view of the smoking panorama of a partially destroyed city, is effective in illustrating the cumulative destructive power of the German attack.

Although a majority of the story proceeds chronologically, flashbacks are utilized to fill in the gaps – some occurring as early as many years before the war. Although this approach is useful in developing the characters and explaining their relationships, there are time when it can be jarring to suddenly shift from the present to the past with few clues that the film’s linear progression has been paused.

Blitz features several strong performances with two standouts being newcomer Elliott Heffernan and veteran Saoirse Ronan. Hefferman leans into the Dickensian aspects of his character to give us a World War II version of David Copperfield or Pip. It’s a remarkably accomplished performance for someone with so little professional experience. Ronan’s work is on the level we have come to expect from her. However, as good as she is, one could argue this is more of a supporting role than a lead one (Blitz being George’s story) and it’s only her second best performance of the year (falling in the long shadow of The Outrun, in which she is phenomenal).

Following a short, limited theatrical run, Blitz will make its way to Apple TV+, where it will accrue most of its audience. With fewer edges than some of McQueen’s earlier films and mainstream appeal, it should find some success in the streaming realm. It’s the kind of movie one can watch and appreciate on both an emotional and intellectual level but without having to do much heavy lifting. It isn’t the director’s best work but nevertheless represents a worthy entry to his increasingly diverse filmography.